1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a system for enhancing a video presentation of a live event.
2. Description of the Related Art
The remarkable, often astonishing, physical skills and feats of great athletes draw millions of people every day to follow sports that range from the power of American football to the grace of figure skating, from the speed of ice hockey to the precision of golf. Sports fans are captivated by the abilities of basketball players to soar to the rafters, a baseball batter to drive the ball out of the park, a runner to explode down the track, a skier to race down the hill, a running back to break through the pack and make the first down, etc. In televising these events, broadcasters have deployed a varied repertoire of technologiesxe2x80x94ranging from slow-motion replay to lipstick-sized cameras mounted on helmetsxe2x80x94to highlight for viewers these exciting events.
One technology that can be improved is the use of graphics to highlight events and information, or to convey additional information, during a live event. For example, it would be useful during broadcasts of American football games to provide viewers with a visual guide indicating the location that the offense must advance to in order to earn a first down. When a receiver hooks back to catch a pass on third and long, a quarterback scrambles down field to keep a drive alive, or when a running back struggles for that extra yard to get the first down, the excitement to the television viewer would be enhanced if the video included a graphic showing the now-invisible first down line that those players are striving to cross.
An enhancement that would be helpful to viewers of golf tournaments is to highlight those portions of a golf course that have been notorious trouble spots to golfers. While the professional golfer is aware of these trouble spots and hits the ball to avoid those spots, the television viewer may not be aware of those trouble spots and may wonder why a particular golfer is hitting the ball in a certain direction. If the golf course was highlighted to show these trouble spots, a television viewer would understand the strategy that the golfer is using and get more enjoyment out of viewing the golf tournament. Another useful enhancement would include showing the contours of the green.
Similar enhancements to the playing field would be useful for other sports. For example, viewers of a ski jump, long jump or other similar event would be interested in seeing a graphic showing how far the first place or record-holding jumper has achieved. In a race, it would be of interest to know where a record holder had advanced to at a particular time. The number of applications for graphics is unlimited.
Furthermore, live events do not take advantage of the scope of the television audience with respect to advertising. First, advertisements on display at a stadium can be televised; however, many of those advertisements are not applicable to the television audience. For example, a particular sporting event may be played in San Francisco and televised around the world. A local store may pay for a billboard at the stadium. However, viewers in other parts of the United States or in other countries receiving the broadcast may not have access to that store and, thus, the broadcast of the advertisement is not effective. Second, some of the space at a stadium is not used for advertisements because such use would interfere with the view of the players or the spectators at the stadium, or because the stadium owner chooses not to use the space for advertisements. However, using that space for advertisements would be very effective for the television audience. For example, the glass around the perimeter of a hockey rink would provide an effective location for advertisements to the television audience. However, if such advertisements were physically present they would block the spectators"" view at the stadium. Third, some advertisements would be more effective if their exposure is limited to particular times when customers are thinking of that type of product. For example, an advertisement for an umbrella would be more effective while it is raining.
One solution for using graphics with the video presentation of live events as discussed above includes digitizing a frame of video and using a computer with pattern recognition software to locate the target image to be replaced in the frame of video. When the target image is found, a replacement image is inserted in its place. However, this solution is not satisfactory because the software is too slow, cannot be effectively used in conjunction with a live event, cannot be used when the cameras are rapidly panning and cannot be used when multiple cameras are being rapidly tallied.
Thus, there is a need for an improved system that can use a graphic to enhance the video presentation of a live event.
The present invention is directed to a system for enhancing a video presentation of a live event. A three-dimensional mathematical model is created to represent an environment to be enhanced by a blending of graphics with video. One or more cameras are fitted with pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors. An operator selects a location (e.g. a point, a line, an arc or other shape) in the environment. The three-dimensional model is used to determine the three-dimensional coordinates of the location selected by the operator. Information from the pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors is used to convert the three-dimensional coordinates to a two-dimensional position in the video from the camera. Using the two-dimensional position in the video, a graphic is properly blended with the video such that the graphic appears to be at the selected location in the environment, displayed with the correct perspective.
One embodiment of the present invention includes pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors fitted to one or more cameras. The sensors are in communication with a computer having a processor and a processor readable storage unit for storing code to program the processor. The video signals from the cameras and the program signal are transmitted to a tally detector which determines which, if any, of the cameras are tallied. An operator can use the computer to select a location in the environment. The computer uses the data from the pan, tilt and/or zoom sensors to transform the coordinates of the selected location to a position in a frame of video from the tallied camera. Using the position in the frame of video, the graphic is rendered and blended with the frame of video from the tallied camera.
In one embodiment, the environment is a football stadium. Examples of a graphic include a logo (which can be an advertisement, emblem, etc.), a line or any other image (or set of images). The line can be used to show the location where the offense must advance to in order to achieve a first down. The line can also be used to show the line of scrimmage or other information. The present invention can be used with sports other than American football, as well as events that are not sports related.
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following description in which the preferred embodiment of the invention has been set forth in conjunction with the drawings.